Shaquil Barrett ‘should be ready to go’ by Week 1 after Bucs linebacker tore his Achilles last season

Shaquil Barrett saw his 2022 campaign end prematurely after the Buccaneers linebacker suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 8 against the Ravens. Since then, the 30-year-old has been rehabbing and recently told the “Loose Cannons Podcast” that he is positioning himself to be ready to return to the field by the start of next season. 

“Mentally, it probably had me in a bad spot for like a day or two,” Barrett said of his immediate reaction to the injury, via NFL.com. “Just wanted to sulk in it a little bit. You know, all the questions you ask when something bad happens that you don’t want to happen. Physically now though, I’m good. I’m doing the rehab. I’m getting better. I’ve been jogging on the treadmill. Doing everything pretty much according to plan and on schedule. It might be a little slower right now because we’ve got a lot of time, so not trying to force anything.

“But I’m ready to go. I’m gonna be ready to go when it’s time to go. I’m pretty sure ‘time to go’ will be the first game. I don’t anticipate missing any games. I don’t anticipate being on any play counts. So, I should be ready to go for the first game for sure.”

Getting a player of Barrett’s caliber back into the fold and healthy for the start of the 2023 season will be important for a Bucs team that has gone through significant turnover this offseason, headlined by the retirement of Tom Brady. Meanwhile, there could be another major departure on Barrett’s side of the ball with fellow linebacker Devin White recently requesting a trade out of Tampa. That said, Barrett does believe that White will ultimately stay with the franchise.

“We’re gonna figure it for sure,” Barrett said. “There’s no way in the world we should trade Devin. They’re gonna figure it out. I got faith in Devin’s side and I got faith in the front office side.”

As for Barrett, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn if he will have some discussions with the front office this offseason. As things stand currently, he is seeing a major boost in his salary cap hit, which raises to $21.2 million for 2023 after sitting at $8.15 million last year. Barrett no longer has guaranteed salary for this coming season or in the final year of his deal in 2024 (which accounts for $23.6 million against the cap), so it will be worth monitoring his contractual status alongside his recovery as we get closer to the season.